Situations in Pacific island countries have been changing in recent years, due to increasing Pacific voices in the international society, growing China’s influence, and enhanced engagements by United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Under such circumstances, Japan is expected to clarify consistency between Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision” and Pacific island countries’ “Blue Pacific Identity” through careful dialogues and practices to Pacific island countries, evolve current donor-recipient relationships with them into strategic partnerships for tackling common issues, and take a role for realizing a rules-based order and prosperity in the Pacific islands region.

Movements are underway to carry out marine and atmospheric observations by applying measurements obtained by biologging methods, through devices attached to the bodies of animals in the wild. The author and his colleagues have carried out research assimilating this data into ocean current prediction models, thereby increasing their accuracy. By systematically integrating biologging data into ocean observation networks, they can be strengthened both in quality and quantity. The ocean current data generated by applying the data from these strengthened marine observation networks could contribute to the pioneering of a new field in marine science.

The report by the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Investigation Review Committee for Underwater Sites, “On Protection of Underwater Sites,” was released on October 31, 2017. Designation of the Takashima Kozaki site as the first National Historic Site found at sea means that Japan is finally beginning to legally perceive the importance of our underwater cultural heritage. There are still many examples of undiscovered underwater cultural heritage in Japanese territory and in the surrounding ocean areas. The positive assessment of these sites by local government authorities and efforts towards their protection and utilization will to some extent contribute to the effective implementation of the Coordinating States’ System provided in Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in the future.
Selected Papers No.25(p.8)